Quick Trip To Montana - Part 3

As we did throughout the morning and into the early afternoon, we followed a secondary road that (more or less) followed the path of the interstate.

We often found ourselves crossing under or over the interstate to pick up the winding two lane road again, but as I continually looked back at the busy four lane I-90 I knew that we were doing the right thing.

We had left Atomic City late in the morning the previous day, in the mood to blow out of town, to be on the road, to be on the move and seeing a new part of the country, and we were doing just that.

Impulsively we turned off the two lane road often, curious to see where random signs (such as the one above) led.

Sometimes they dead-ended.  Sometimes they led to mountain views.  Or river views.

 Sometimes we thought we could find a different route back to Bozeman.

But we didn't.

And ended up turning back.

And all of that was OK.

Kory happily stood in the back of the Tahoe looking out of the window.  Sometimes sticking her nose through the crack in the window to smell where she was.  Sometimes sitting or laying down and napping briefly.

And often we stopped at river accesses and our dog happily waded and swam in the Yellowstone River.

It was all good.................

Whenever I see homes like this one - partially hidden in the trees - I wonder what it must be like to live in such a place.

A place where the Yellowstone River can be seen through their front windows and the Crazy Mountains can be seen from their back door.

It was only after we returned to our nice but humble home in the Snake River Plain that I had the opportunity to do more research on the area.

It is highly doubtful that we would ever be able to afford to live in such an area.

Beautiful.

Very beautiful.

Beautiful to see as a visitor.................

A beautiful little school house in the quiet little community of Springdale.

I saw this old and renovated school house at the last minute as we were driving by it, and snapped this picture on the go assuming that it would not turn out.

Thankfully it did.

Lovely little place, and seen during one of our failed attempts to find one more back road that would lead us to Bozeman.

After veering 20 minutes off course we finally turned the Tahoe back and returned to roads more familiar.

But the side trip was not a total waste.
They never were.

More beautiful parts of Montana that we would not have seen had we not taken the roads less traveled..............

A lady we know in Montana suggested Livingston, Belgrade and Manhattan to us as towns to look at based on our needs and interests.

We blew through Livingston, surprised at how big and how dirty it was (and it was during this trip that I - for the first time - regretted not having one of those Smart Phones complete with Internet so I could research while on the go).

We immediately disliked Belgrade and immediately loved Manhattan (only to learn once we returned home that this pretty little bedroom community to Bozeman was completely out of our price range).

Our puppy had yet one more chance to swim in the river.

She rejoiced in the opportunity to cool down and swim, and we enjoyed watching her play.

It was HER trip as well.............. 

 

After some quick shopping in Bozeman both LC and I realized that we were in the mood to head home.

We still had 250 miles to drive.

250 MILES!!!

When I write that now I realize just how far we traveled in a day and a half.

And in hindsight I realize just how restless we both were.

LC and I didn't travel far throughout the winter.

The weather was very cold and we had what seemed like endless snow, and so we stayed mostly close to home.

In very early spring we were both restless.

Preparing to put our house on the market.  Thinking about where we wanted to be and where we could afford to be.

Needing to see new places, new faces, new mountains, new rivers, even new trees.

Just needing to be in motion.

And so we stayed in motion.

As we drove back through portions outside the gates of Yellowstone National Park, through West Yellowstone, and as we again found ourselves back across the state line into Idaho we looked around us.

The world in Montana was beautiful.

So was the world in Idaho.

For whatever reason, this trip seemed to calm both of us.

Maybe we both just had too much energy that needed to be released after a long winter.

Maybe we just needed to stretch our legs as winter finally transitioned begrudingly into spring.

But for whatever reason, we arrived back at our house knowing for certain that we needed to try and sell our home and move.

Somewhere closer to water and closer to the mountains.

But also knowing for certain that we would not stress over it.

When it happened, it happened.

And when (and where) it was right.......it was right.

Until then, we were fine right where we were...............

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but late last fall we decided to gut out and redo an old camper.

We finished it a few weeks ago, and took it out on its maiden voyage during a camping trip to Challis, ID last week.

Pictures to come..............

 My wild and free side unsettled some, and unwedged others..........Brigitte Bardot

My wild and free side unsettled some, and unwedged others.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/unsettled.html

My wild and free side unsettled some, and unwedged others.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/unsettled.html